The
Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA), in collaboration with the Gambia
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), recently organised a daylong training
course on the Public Procurement Act for small and medium enterprises.
The
training, organised as part of the procurement reform in The Gambia being
bankroll by the EU, brought together more than 25 participants at the EMPRETEC
office in Bakau Newtown.
Speaking
on the occasion, Hamat Bah, a staff of Gambia Investment and Export Promotion
Agency (GIEPA), said: “The training is very timely and equally important for
most small businesses who don’t know public procurement and they have not been
participating in public procurement.”
He
said the training is “a rear opportunity” that the participants could utilise
to derive a lot of benefits to empower themselves in their businesses.
The
training was expected to make the small and medium enterprises conversant with
the Public Procurement Amendment Act.
“It
is very important for a small and medium enterprise to know how to fill bidding
document, know how to present their bidding and also how to go about
requirement for evaluation criteria,” Mr Bah said.
“With
this training, the participants should be to participate in public tendering so
as to increase their business with government.”
Olivier
Barnouin, a trainer from EU, said the training was geared towards building the
capacity of small and medium enterprises to participate in public procurement.
A
participant, Fatou Maria of ConAfrique, expressed delight with her
participation in the training, saying “this course is very important”.
Ndey
Fatou Njie, founder of TIGA Swimwear, also a participant, said: “Today is my first time to attend this kind
of training on public procurement. The
training is very vital to my business and I hope to gain more knowledge to help
grow my business.
“At
the end of the training, I will be able to participate in public procurement
with other competitors.”
Another
participant, Malick M. Jarju of Africa Energy Solution, said the training would
help businesses like his to participate more in public procurement.